Basketball Betting

Jazz bring recent road success to New Orleans

Basketball Betting Lines

02/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams and the red-hot Utah Jazz shoot for their fifth straight road win against the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy tonight.

Usually when the Jazz and Hornets meet, you can look forward to a matchup between two of the game's best point guards, Williams and New Orleans' Chris Paul.

But, Paul is expected to remain on the sidelines for another three weeks or so after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Hornets are 3-4 since their All-Star went down and on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff picture, 2 1/2 games behind Portland for the eighth and final spot.

New Orleans opened a four-game homestand before the All-Star break with an impressive 93-85 triumph over Boston.

Rookie Darren Collison, starting in place of Paul, scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter in that one as the Hornets shut down Boston's frontcourt combination of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in the second half to come away with the victory.

Collison also had nine assists, but accounted for a franchise-record 10 of New Orleans' 24 turnovers. Despite that, the Hornets won their second game in three tries.

Peja Stojakovic contributed 20 points, while Morris Peterson had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets. David West tallied 15 points, seven boards and six assists, and Darius Songaila netted 12 points in the victory.

Collison is averaging 19.3 points and 9.5 assists in place of Paul but he is turning the ball over far too much, compiling 4.8 miscues per game during that span.

The Jazz, meanwhile, have been surging behind Williams, who took advantage of Paul's absence in Sunday's All-Star Game to net 14 points and dish out six assists in 28 minutes off the bench for the West.

Utah got back to work for real last night with a solid 104-94 win in Houston.

Mehmet Okur poured in 21 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots in that one as the Jazz used a late surge to take down the Rockets.

Paul Millsap added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who have won 10 of their last 11 games and are now the third seed in the Western Conference.

Williams continued his stellar play with 17 points and 15 assists while Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer each chipped in 12 points for Utah, which shot 51.9 percent from the floor.

"That's a very good team we played," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said. "In the West, they are probably the second or third best team right now. We just came down to the end of the game there where their experience showed."

The Jazz, who have won 14 of their past 16 contests, haven't won five in a row away from Salt Lake City since the 2007-08 season.

The Hornets snapped a four-game skid to the Jazz with a 91-87 win in Utah on Jan. 4.